American Airlines and US Airways on Thursday announced they plan to merge to create the country's largest airline, with a route network stretching from coast to coast, and covering large swaths of Latin America, Europe, Canada, the Caribbean and Africa.

Disgraced former Dixon Comptroller Rita Crundwell was sentenced today to serve 235 months -- 19 years and 7 months -- in prison on one federal count of wire fraud resulting from her embezzlement of nearly $54 million in public funds from the City of Dixon.

A day after President Barack Obama urged lawmakers to bring new gun control legislation up for a vote in Congress, Illinois U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk says he’s cautiously optimistic about gun control measures he’s pushing in the Senate.

The merger of American Airlines and US Airways, to be formally announced Thursday, caps a turbulent half-decade of bankruptcies and consolidation for the U.S. airline industry and leaves travelers four big carriers to choose from.